FF (shoegaze band)Lord

‘Lord’ is the debut LP from Seattle-based punk trio FF. They claim to make gloomy, ethereal punk anthems inspirited by the Northest DIY underground scene of their hometown. Their sound has be likened to My Bloody Valentine, Wipers, Sonic Youth and the Flying Nun Records cabal by lazy journos. Apparently this band is different though, as they’ve broken away from the current tedium of 90s revivalism. That’s what the press release says though so I suppose they would have to say that.

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Not content with re-issuing every great lost 80’s record ever made, Captured Tracks are now intent on signing new bands that rake the past with an equally microscopic eye.

The press release might try to convince you otherwise but this debut from this brash Seattle threesome is derivative to the point that you can isolate each track and are able to note the exact song (never mind the band) that it steals from. Opener ‘Deadhead’ re-writes My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Thorn’ making things a bit heavier and grungier adding some Nirvana style growls into the chorus. ‘Dusted’ is ‘Daydream Nation’ era Sonic Youth, again with some Cobain style guitar mangling on the chorus. To be fair to the band they make a pretty exciting racket and are certainly louder and heavier than your dreamy shoegazers.

Really what you are getting is ‘Nevermind’ era Nirvana playing ‘Isn’t Anything’ loudly. If Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Wedding Present, MBV and Nirvana hadn’t already been invented. This would be the best record of 1989. It’s going to be a fun experience for many a grunge/shoegaze fan but for this ageing hack, I’m tired of hearing moves I’ve already heard.